I'm high functioning autistic and the number 1 question i get asked when people find that out (usually a couple months after they meet me) is some variant of: "oh, is that why youre good at...?"

It used to really aggravate and insult me. But now, I use it as an excuse to be funny like "no, I was bitten by a computer that was mutated in a government lab" or "actually, I was exposed to a radioactive guitar and piano. Don't make me angry or I'll play freeform jazz..." 😁😁😁😝😝

The most interesting part for me is that good music has a lot to with "natural numbers" (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, ...) and not continuous values.
A chord that sounds right have a simple relation between the notes: 1/12 3/12 6/12
Also if you do the differential physic equation behind the sound of a Piano or a Harpsichord, you can see the natural numbers behind them that makes us feel that the piano has a richer sound

I've done a lot of mentoring and teaching in the past and what most people ask me is the stereotypical:

"How do I become a senior developer like you?"

My responses may vary based on my mood for cracking a joke, but they always boil down to something like this...

"Forget about taglines, senior, junior, 10x freaking unicorn, or rockstar. It means absolutely nothing in the real world. What you should give a crap about is how to bring engineering back into the art of being a software engineer. Learn core concepts of algorithms and problem solving. Learn how to take responsibility for the code you write. Learn how to own it! Own your code and everything you do. Your job is not done until the code is running in production, and your customers have a fast, responsive and, most importantly, working app. Then you are an engineer, not just a coder."

Definitely! I like to train people's mindset. It doesn't get softer than that. Building their understanding of responsibility and understanding of how to be an engineer is more important than learning algorithms by heart. Learn how to solve problems. Learn how to communicate without exhibiting senseless ego and pride. That's what it's all about. ✌️

"How do computers actually work?"
"How does the internet work?"
"How do (internal combustion) engines work?"
Any of those will get me talking and grabbing for something to draw diagrams on.
Sadly, most people want the 30 second answer, not the 30 minute answer.

It's all based on harnessing the power of micro-explosions. This is why
Hollywood *loves* the "car rolls over and catches on fire" trope - the
writers can claim "hey, it was already exploding, we just made it watchable!"

Even tho there isn't a day where someone ask/talk about it, my favorite question to be asked is "How tall are you?". My unusual height is a very good ice breaker. It's a great way to stand out (no pun intended) from the rest and a very effective to be remembered.